At A Loss
by Spoot Poot
Summary: Sheldon and Amy are at a loss on what to do with the now pre-teen Sussy. So, they turn to Penny. The first Chapter is pure fluffy yum! a sweet moment between friends!
1. Between friends

Sheldon: Where have you been?

Spoot: Mars.

Sheldon: I find that hard to believe…

Spoot: Why?

Sheldon: Why would they invite you to go but not me…I'm clearly more qualified to-

Spoot: On with the story!

At A Loss

Sheldon looked back over his shoulder at his wife. The glasses clad woman urged him with a stern hand. Sheldon didn't look to happy about what he was about to do. He looked back at the door he was stationed in front of. He reached a hand up and knocked three times. "Sussy?" He spoke. Amy rolled her eyes. A knock came from the other side of the door. "Daddy?" The young girl spoke. Sheldon physically twitched. "Now that's not fair…" He snapped as he looked back at his wife with distain. She was laughing. "Oh ha ha! I suppose this must be 'Torture Sheldon Day'? Well…I'll alert the media." He snapped at her. Amy, ever displeased, reached over and began to bang on the door. "You get you gluteus maximus out here right now young lady, or so help me!"

The door opened so suddenly that Amy almost smacked her own child in the head. Sussy stood in the doorway, arms crossed over her chest. Sheldon reached over and knocked on the door three times. "Sussy…" He mumbled. Amy pushed him back and glared down at her 12 year old. "Care to explain the B Minus you got in science?" She barked. Sussy shifted her weight and rolled her eyes. "What's the big deal…it's just a little B…" She scoffed. Sheldon jerked into action with a jolt of his body. "Ah, just A 'B'? _just a 'B'!_ Oh Heavens, next she'll be selling dope!" He exclaimed. "Sheldon let's not be irrational…" Amy began. "Irrational…eh… _irrational!_ Listen to this…my brother got B's and D's most of his scholastic career…"

"So." Amy said dully.

"So!" Sheldon snapped. " _SO!_ He's in jail now…for selling…" He lowered his voice to a whisper, " _Dope…"_

Sussy rolled her eyes. "I just don't like science, ok." She snapped in that typical pre-teen sneer. Amy and Sheldon both simultaneously gasped and clutched at their chests, feigning heart problems. Sussy rolled her eyes once more and sucked at her teeth. She rolled off the doorframe she had been leaning on and slumped back to her room, promptly closing the door. Amy looked to her almost comatose husband. "We have to do something Sheldon…" He nodded after taking a moment to compose himself. "I know just what to do." He said with a glimmer of confidence.

Penny smiled as she offered her new guest a spot of hot…water. Sheldon looked into the cup then back up at her. "Sorry, we're out of tea." She said with a sarcastic smile. Sheldon pushed the cup away as he cleared his throat. "I need a favor." He spoke. "Oh yeah? What's in it for me?" Penny said, keeping the smile. Sheldon rolled his eyes and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a drink ticket for a local club in town. "There's more where that came from." He said. She snatched the ticket from him. "What can I do ya' for?" She asked. "It's Sussy…she's bringing home…" Sheldon paused as he looked around the room. When he felt that all was well he leaned in, "B's…" He said in a hushed tone. Penny let out a fake gasp. "Oh no!" She bantered to start. He stayed quiet. "Wow, you're really serious about this, well…what do you need me for?"

"I want you to spend this upcoming Saturday with her. Show her how you live your life."

"I know there's an insult coming Sheldon, so let me make this clear…" She passed him the ticket and crossed her arms. "Nnnno." Sheldon's gaze cast downward. "Please, I know you think it's an insult…but…it's not…If she doesn't want to peruse a life of science and endeavors of the mind…then…I would want her to be like you…" Penny glared at him. "Yeah, that's an insult."

He looked up at her. "It's not, I admire you Penny." She was taken aback by his sudden kindness and warmth. "She may have a better chance in life if she were more like you." He said softly. Penny placed a hand on her chest. A smile of pure joy crossed her face. "Aww, Sheldon….wait…" Her smile faded. "There's an insult coming, I just know it…" He shook his head. "I'm afraid I don't have one, looks like we won't be playing that game today." He said. Penny eyed him as she leaned forward. "What game…Sheldon?"

"The one I play with you. I pretend to insult you, you pretend to get mad, it's all in good fun…but I'm not feeling up to it today." He said simply. She stood slowly. "This...has all been a game to you?" She snapped. "All these years…you've been playing with me!"

"You're telling me you took all that seriously? Oh Penny…" He stood and faced her. "I think you're the smartest girl I have ever met…well…if you don't count Priya…or Amy…or-"

"Sheldon…"

"I'm sorry. Let me try that again…" He cleared his throat and began over. "I believe you to be a very smart girl, considering your upbringing. I see you as one of my closest friends. You've always been there for me when I needed someone. I only teased you because I thought it was social protocol between people such as yourself…I may have been mistaken."

Penny stood before him, flabbergasted. "Did I say something wrong again?" He asked with such innocence, it almost made her cry. She took a deep breath. "I'll do it, no drink ticket required." She said with a cheerful smile. "Oh good!" He chirped with glee. "I sure hope she learns something from you. You're not that good of a teacher." He sucked in a few gasps of air then smiled big for her. Penny rolled her eyes. "Well, with a father like you, here's hoping she _can_ learn something _."_ Sheldon sucked in some more air. "Bazinga." He said as he turned to go. "Sheldon…" He turned to her with a puzzled glance. "Thank you." She said softly. He smiled, collected his things, then left the apartment.

Spoot: So, what do ya' think?

Sheldon: Are you asking? You may need my help on the matter, see…here, in the second parag-

Lenard: It's great! Just great!

Spoot: Thank you Lenny.


	2. Anthropology

Spoot: I hate when people say "Penny and Lenard".

Amy: And why is that?

Spoot: It's just weird!

Amy: I see, so saying, "Lenard and Penny" is more conventional?

Spoot: YES!

When You're Right, You're Right

Penny stood by her door as the chorus of knocks and name calls erupted from the other side. She stood upright when the third string of knocks didn't occur right away. She stiffened up and reached for the door as the third string of knocks erupted. She sighed, too soon. The voice wasn't Sheldon's. It was a small girl. "Penny" The little girl stated. The blonde opened the door and giggled. There was Sussy standing in front of the door. Sheldon was about a foot behind her. "You gave her your last knock?" She asked in a gleeful tone. Sussy turned to her father who looked ready to explode. "I asked for it." She said as she turned to Penny.

The blonde smiled at Sheldon. "Go ahead." She said sweetly. Sheldon exhaled and approached her door

Knock  
knock  
knock  
"Penny." He mumbled. "Anyway, here she is. You two have fun today…" He reached over and grabbed his child and pulled her close. "But, not too much fun…" She shoved him off. "Daddy! You're embarrassing me!" Sheldon let her go and stood upright. He nodded to Penny. "She's in good hands Sheldon, honest." She assured. He kissed the little girl on top of her head, to her distain, then left with a goodbye.

Penny shut the door behind her then turned to Sussy. "So, whad'daya wanna do?" She asked. Sussy was looking around the room. "Do you ever clean?" she asked. Penny just walked toward the kitchen. "This place looks like a breeding ground for bacteria." Sussy continued. Penny pulled down a bottle of wine then stopped herself. "No…not around the children…" She mumbled as she put it back on the shelf. "Am I bugging you?" Sussy asked. She was standing right in front of the blonde. She looked like a tiny Amy with no glasses. So much so she even held her satchel bag the same way. "Why would you think you were bugging me?" Penny asked.

"My dad said I'm not allowed to bug you…or criticize…even if it is needed…Dad says I hafta be nice today." Penny just shook her head. "You're fine." She said as she pushed passed Sussy. "I know what I wanna do now…" she said softly. Penny turned to her. "Oh yeah?"

Sussy leaned over and glanced at all the assortment of do-dads on the car dash. "Penny…your check engine light is on…" She began. Penny gripped the wheel. "Do you wanna go to the zoo or not." She snapped. Sussy sat back in her seat. She glanced out the window. "Seems to me you would wanna get that checked." She mumbled. Penny took this opportunity to pull off to the side and turn to look at the girl. "Remember what your dad said about being nice?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, you're not being nice."

"Dad said I had to annoy you about the engine light…said he was worried about your safety." Penny's mouth dropped open. "Dad says he worries about you sometimes….like how you drink too much, and the engine, he's scared you might get hurt." From the mouth of babes…Penny sat back in her seat and gripped the wheel. "He said that?" She asked. "Yeah. Why?" Penny shook her head. "Tell your dad I'll get it looked at next week." With that she pulled back onto the road.

Amy opened the bedroom door, entered the room, grabbed some things off the dresser then turned to the door. She jumped. There was Sheldon. "I'm home." He said. "I dropped Sus off." Amy smiled and approached him. "How was the drive back alone?" She asked as she fell into him. He put his arms around her. "Terrifying." He simply said. She nuzzled into him then looked up. He was looking down at her. "We have the house to ourselves." He said. She bit her lower lip. "I'll get the D&D board." She hissed. Sheldon laughed outright. She glared at him. "Forget the board …" He said slyly. "I wanna LARP…" Amy's face turned a bright pink. "Go put on your armor." Sheldon whispered in her ear.

Sussy walked behind Penny. Here steps were slow and sluggish. Penny turned to her and smiled. "Come on! It's the zoo; you're allowed to go crazy here!" She said. Sussy looked up. She resembled Sheldon for a moment. "Really?" She asked. Penny nodded. Sussy handed over her satchel bag. She stood still for a moment then in a blink of an eye took off running why squealing about monkeys. Penny giggled as the shouldered the girl's bag over her own purse. She followed her to the monkey enclosure. "DID YOU KNOW…Harry Frederick Harlow was an American psychologist best known for his maternal-separation, dependency needs, and social isolation experiments on rhesus monkeys, which manifested the importance of care-giving and companionship in social and cognitive development!" She began. A little boy was glaring at her. Penny walked up. "Sorry, she just really loves Monkeys…" She said. Sussy looked up at her.

"It's not just a love for them, Dr. Harlow originally came to the conclusion that we need social interaction…that was, untill Margaret died in August 1971. That was his second wife…he went crazy after that, sinking into depression and starting 'Fear Tests' on the monkeys…you want a good scary movie…there you go…"

"And you say you don't like science…"

"That's social science and behavioral science…not science science…or whatever." Penny had to laugh. Wow, if Sheldon had heard that he would die…literally die. "It's like Anthropology. I like that too!" Sussy continued. "Oh, right, you mean the study of humans, past and present." Sussy glared up at Penny with a dropped jaw. Penny giggled. "I watch Bones." She said. Sussy rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I think I wanna get into Sociocultural Anthropology. It examines social patterns and practices across cultures, with a special interest in how people live in particular places and how they organize, govern, and create meaning." Penny nodded. "Like what Bones does." Sussy sighed. "Yeah, like Bones…" She looked back at the monkeys. Penny watched her. She never heard Sheldon…or Amy talk about Anthropology. This was something only Sussy was into. "Have you told your parents about this."

"No way! They would disown me for sure. Dad says Social Science is not a legitimate study. He recognizes it, but won't encourage it. And Mom says that though social interaction plays a big role in neurology the study of it and cultures is for hippies…" She watched a monkey hop off a rock and inch close to another monkey. "Look, group eating; let's see if they share..." The monkey reached for the fruit the other had piled in front of him. The monkey eating became irate and started to attack the smaller one. "Ooops! Nope!" Sussy giggled out. "He's not in a sharing mood today!" She laughed at the interactions.

Amy looked to her right at the man in bed with her. He was fast asleep. She grinned from ear to ear. She leaned over and cuddle with Sheldon, who twitched in his sleep but nothing more. "You want tea?" She asked. His eyes opened. "Yes." He stated as he promptly closed his eyes tight. She got out of bed, taking the sheet with her. She stepped into the kitchen and began to fix tea when the front door opened. Lenard entered the apartment and put his keys by the door. He gasped when he saw Amy. "HEY!" He snapped. She jumped. "That's my sheet…oh my god!" He snapped as he walked down the hall. She waited on a bated breath.

"OH MY GOD! IN MY BED!"

Spoot: That's Chapter two!

Amy: *In a daze*

Spoot: Thought you might like that.


End file.
